The SNP roared to victory in the last election, and it always promised a referendum on Scottish independence. Salmond says that his party is simply keeping a campaign promise in putting the question of Scottish independence to a vote.

Cameron needs to show more political sophistication than he has up until now. Reuters

In recent days, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Salmond have been locked in a public battle over the timing of the referendum and also what question the referendum will ask. Cameron has been reportedly pushing for a ballot measure in the next 18 months, a tactical move designed to rob the SNP of time to campaign for independence.

Cameron also has been pushing the SNP for a straight yes or no vote, while the SNP also wants to include an option called 'devo max' or maximum devolution, which would give Scotland fiscal autonomy but politically still keep it in the United Kingdom. The British government is worried that the third option could splinter pro-unionist voters.

There is also a question of whether the Scottish Parliament has the legal right to hold a referendum. Salmond and the SNP says yes, and the British government says no. From a legal standpoint, the Scottish government has the right to hold an advisory referendum, "effectively an opinion poll", as the BBC says, but not a binding vote.

Losing the political battle

However, as political blogger and head of the political participation NGO Democracy Society Anthony Zacharzewski says, this is really an issue of the law versus politics.

In terms of the political battle, Salmond is running rings around Cameron. Legally, Cameron is right. The Scottish Parliament doesn't have the powers to hold a binding referendum, but Cameron thus far has been clumsily making his case and also painting Scotland as weak economically outside of the United Kingdom. He might be right, but he's being politically tone deaf.

Current polls show that independence is still a minority position. The Guardian reports that the most Scottish Social Attitudes survey showed support for independence at just 32%. However, as the Independent notes, the Conservative Party is now so unpopular in Scotland that it doesn't have a single MP there, and the party's austerity programme isn't helping it win back voters there.

Get past the Mail's bombast, and Luckhurst's point is that England has as much to lose from Scottish independence as Scotland might lose if it decides for full independence. England might be the senior partner in the United Kingdom and has been since the 18th Century, but England does benefit from the Union, not just the junior nations.

Cameron needs to show more political sophistication than he has up until now. As 2012 starts, we see yet again that the ties that have bound Europe together are starting to fray, and Europe's politicians seem to be losing the case to stay together.